$2.616-B BOP surplus for 2015 tops target

The Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) position ended in positive territory last year at a $2.616-billion surplus, rebounding from the deficit posted in 2014.

The 2015 BOP position is the biggest surplus since 2013’s $5.085 billion, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data.

The result was reversal of the $2.858-billion deficit recorded in 2014 and also surpassed the central bank’s projection of a $2-billion surplus.

In December alone, the BOP posted a surplus of $481 million, rebounding from November’s $141-million deficit but narrower than the $864-million surplus recorded a year earlier.

The BOP summarizes the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world over a certain period. It consists of the current account, capital account and financial account.
The central bank expects the overall BOP position to improve to a $2.2-billion surplus this year, with an anticipated lower current account surplus to be partially offset by a financial account rebound to a small net inflow.

The 2016 current account was forecast to be in surplus at $5.7 billion, lower than the revised $8.9-billion estimate for 2015, due mainly to an expected surge in imports. The capital account is expected to expand by 0.1 percent, while the financial account could likely hit a net inflow of $400 million.